Eric Maskin | |
|---|---|
 Maskin in 2009 | |
| Born | (1950-12-12)December 12, 1950 (age 74) New York City, U.S. |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Harvard University (BA,MA,PhD) |
| Thesis | Social choice on restricted domains (1976) |
| Doctoral advisor | Kenneth Arrow |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Game theory |
| Institutions | Harvard University Institute for Advanced Study Massachusetts Institute of Technology Princeton University University of Cambridge |
| Doctoral students | Abhijit Banerjee Drew Fudenberg[1] Robert W. Vishny[2] Mathias Dewatripont David S. Scharfstein Jean Tirole |
| Notable ideas | Mechanism design |
| Awards | Nobel Memorial Prize (2007) |
| Website | |
Eric Stark Maskin (born December 12, 1950) is an American economist and mathematician. He was jointly awarded the 2007Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences withLeonid Hurwicz andRoger Myerson "for having laid the foundations ofmechanism design theory".[3] He is theAdams University Professor and Professor of Economics and Mathematics atHarvard University.
Until 2011, he was theAlbert O. Hirschman Professor of Social Science at theInstitute for Advanced Study, and a visiting lecturer with the rank of professor atPrinceton University.[4]
Maskin was born inNew York City on December 12, 1950, into a Jewish family, and spent his youth inAlpine, New Jersey. He graduated fromTenafly High School inTenafly, New Jersey, in 1968.[5] In 1972, he graduated withA.B. in mathematics fromHarvard College. In 1974, he earnedA.M. in applied mathematics and in 1976 earned aPh.D. in applied mathematics, both atHarvard University. In 1975–76, he was a visiting student atDarwin College, Cambridge University.
In 1976, after earning his doctorate, Maskin became a research fellow atJesus College, Cambridge University. In the following year, he joined the faculty atMassachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1985 he returned to Harvard as the Louis Berkman Professor of Economics, where he remained until 2000. In 1987, he was a visiting fellow atSt John's College, Cambridge. During the 1990s he advised theBank of Italy on the operation of itsbond auctions.[6] In 2000, he moved to theInstitute for Advanced Study inPrinceton, New Jersey. In addition to his position at the Princeton Institute, Maskin is the director of the Jerusalem Summer School in Economic Theory atThe Institute for Advanced Studies at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[7] In 2010, he was conferred an honorary doctoral degree in economics from TheUniversity of Cambodia.[8] In 2011, Maskin returned toHarvard as the Adams University Professor and professor of economics and mathematics.[9]
Maskin has worked in diverse areas ofeconomic theory, such asgame theory, the economics of incentives, and contract theory. He is particularly known for his papers onmechanism design/implementation theory anddynamic games. With Jean Tirole, he advanced the concept ofMarkov perfect equilibrium. His research projects include comparing different electoral rules, examining the causes of inequality, and studying coalition formation.
Maskin is a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences,[10]Econometric Society,[11] and theEuropean Economic Association,[12] and a Corresponding Fellow of theBritish Academy.[13] He was president of theEconometric Society in 2003.[14]
In 2014, Maskin was appointed as a visiting professor atCovenant University, Nigeria.[15]
In September 2017, Maskin received the title ofHEC ParisHonoris Causa Professor.[16][17] He also served on the Social Sciences jury for theInfosys Prize in 2018.
Furthermore, he is the chairman of the advisory board of the International Economics Olympiad.[18]
Along withNed Foley, Maskin has proposed the use ofBaldwin's voting method, under the name "Total Vote Runoff", as a way to fix problems with theinstant-runoff method ("Ranked Choice Voting") in U.S. jurisdictions that use it, ensuring majority support of the winner and electing more broadly-acceptable candidates.[19][20][21][22]
In June 2024, 16Nobel Prize in Economics laureates, including Maskin, signed an open letter arguing thatDonald Trump’s fiscal and trade policies coupled with efforts to limit theFederal Reserve's independence would reignite inflation in the United States.[23][24][25]
Maskin suggested thatsoftware patents inhibitinnovation rather than stimulate progress. Software, semiconductor, and computer industries have been innovative despite historically weak patent protection, he argued. Innovation in those industries has been sequential and complementary, so competition can increase firms' future profits. In such a dynamic industry, "patent protection may reduce overall innovation and social welfare". A natural experiment occurred in the 1980s when patent protection was extended to software", wrote Maskin with co-authorJames Bessen. "Standard arguments would predict that R&D intensity and productivity should have increased among patenting firms. Consistent with our model, however, these increases did not occur". Other evidence supporting this model includes a distinctive pattern ofcross-licensing and a positive relationship between rates of innovation and firm entry.[26]
the way Alaska uses ranked-choice voting also caused the defeat of Begich, whom most Alaska voters preferred to Democrat Mary Peltola … A candidate popular only with the party's base would be eliminated early in a Total Vote Runoff, leaving a more broadly popular Republican to compete against a Democrat.
a small but significant adjustment to the "instant runoff" method
Trump's policies could prove to be inflationary, other economists also warned, such as his proposal to create a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imports to deporting immigrants. The tariff plan would add $1,700 in annual costs for the typical U.S. household, essentially acting as an inflationary tax, according to experts at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
including the Nobel prize LectureMechanism Design: How to Implement Social Goals
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: location (link)| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Laureate of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics 2007 Served alongside:Leonid Hurwicz,Roger B. Myerson | Succeeded by |
